Ex-speaker guilty of tax evasion

PENSACOLA - Former Florida House Speaker Bolley ''Bo'' Johnson and his wife were found guilty last night of failing to report income on their tax returns but were acquitted of conspiracy.

Johnson, 47, was convicted on four of five tax evasion counts and his wife, Judi, was convicted on three of four counts.

The 12-member jury began deliberating Monday afternoon and had indicated they were deadlocked in a note to the judge last night. The judge instructed jurors to keep working at it and they returned a verdict about three hours later.

The Johnsons were acquitted of failing to report income on a 1993 return.

Judi Johnson looked stunned and her husband bit his lip as the court clerk read the verdicts. They were both immediately taken into custody by U.S. marshals, but the judge said he would consider written motions for their release. Sentencing is scheduled for July 27.

Johnson faces a maximum sentence of 12 years in prison and a maximum fine of $400,000. For Judi Johnson, 48, maximum penalties could be nine years and $300,000.

Johnson, a Milton Democrat, served in the Florida Legislature through November 1994 when his two-year term as speaker ended. He works in Pensacola as a real estate broker. His wife is a former state Department of Revenue sales tax analyst.

The prosecution argued they tried to hide income from businesses that sought to benefit from their influence with Gov. Lawton Chiles and other powerful officials.

The couple received $1.6 million in consulting fees from casino gambling, road building, lobbying, health care and other businesses from 1992 through 1996.

Defense lawyers did not deny the Johnsons failed to report on their tax returns $503,861 in consulting fees, arguing instead that the omissions were unintentional, and therefore, not a crime.

And there was nothing illegal about the Johnsons accepting the fees, they said.

U.S. Attorney Michael Patterson agreed the fees were legal, but he contended the Johnsons had another reason for trying to hide the income.

''This is not politics. This is influence peddling,'' Patterson told the jury.

Johnson's lawyer, Barry Beroset, argued the couple were guilty only of sloppy record keeping and had been victimized by an incompetent accountant.